Be careful what you wish for Part One
New Plains - Dyson Ring An enormous mound of gentle vegetation that reaches high thrives past the Broken Terrain. A thick carpeting of soft, tall grass extends as far as the eye can see. Occasionally, a slim tree or two breaks up the land, their branches short but eager for the sun. Herds of strange beasts, rhino-like with rows of knobby horns on their heads and protruding fangs, roam the plains in search of the tastiest of grass shoots. If you follow where they graze and look just close enough, you'll find the strangest chunks of metal and cement. If you look closer, you might even find the remains of a well-constructed foundation or two... Contents: Repugnus World Tree Spaceport Ruins With a disdainful shrug, Blast Off transforms into a space shuttle. Space Shuttle flies overhead the New Plains, scanners sweeping the area as he goes. Anytime the Combaticon space shuttle has found himself in the general area of the Dyson Ring, he has searched a grid pattern there for a time before having to leave again. He's looking for any sign of Archeonix, who he has reason to believe may be somewhere in this area. So far, he's found nothing unusual, but he keeps up the effort... always on the lookout for something odd- something that might indicate a time bubble or other strange thing. He's seen a lot of strange stuff out there while flying through space- so he does at least know what's unusal and what isn't. And... jackpot! Soon enough Blast Off detects a burst of temporal energy, and though he was not at its epicenter, he may find himself feeling something akin to jet lag, like he's slightly out of phase of time. Fortunately, the feeling passes, but flying over the area will reveal nothing obvious. It just seems to be a regular patch of tall grass being gently grazed by the native lifeforms. Space Shuttle suddenly feels quite a bit "off" and... that is NOT usual for the shuttle at all. He knows the norm well enough to know something odd when he encounters it. Working on stabilizing and safeguarding his systems for now, he decides to continue on course, scanners sweeping the area for anything of interest. If he DID just enter a time bubble, he wants to find out what's in the center of it. He just... doesn't know how big that bubble may be. Some might be feeling a bit fearful by now... but the shuttle is confident- though cautious. It does seem that Blast Off has stumbled upon something quite odd, for as he approaches the source of the disturbance, the ground ahead of him flickers and then--what the, where the hell is this? Suddenly Blast Off finds himself flying straight through some sort of facility! And before he has any time to react, he flies straight into a net, which expands to slow his velocity down, then encloses itself around him! And worse, Sharkticons fill the room Blast Off is inside of, disconnecting the net from the floor and ceiling, letting Blast Off drop to the ground. Then they gather round him, their dumb faces glinting with malice. And then, one by one their heads turn as something approaches, and they make way for their master--Archaeonix. "Blast Off. Quite interesting for a Decepticon to go so far to meet with me. Alone," he says, hovering towards the Combaticon, tentacles idly feeling about. "I would almost say you had a deathwish, or you foolishly believed that you could destroy me yourself. Is that it?..." Space Shuttle realizes this might not have been one of his brighter ideas after all when the net closes around him. It seems even less of a good idea when a horde of Sharkticons appear. Slaaag. Falling to the floor, the shuttle transforms to his root mode so as to better deal with his sudden indoor surroundings. As he's surrounded by Sharkticons, the Combaticon's hand instinctively twitches, ready to pull out his ionic blaster. But then Aracheonix approaches, and given how badly surrounded he is, he realizes that might not be the best idea. His hand remains by his side, ready to bring forth his weapon if needed, but for now he simply straightens up to meet the elusive scientist. There's the occasional nervous twitch of wing elevons indicating inner unease, but he tries to present a confident front. Optics narrow in concentration, glancing about at the horde and trying to remain as far as he can from them. He regards Archeonix a moment, then, finally, ".....Neither. I simply had a question for you." Blast Off shifts into his battle-ready robot mode. "A question?" Archaeonix says pleasantly. The animal heads flanking his one normal Quintesson head glare at Blast Off and growl. "Hm. You may ask your question! But bear in mind, my... 'consulting' services are not free. Whatever you ask me shall have a price attached to it, a price of my choosing." One of his freakish spider-legs clacks at the ground. "Ah... and by the way. Congratulations! You are now 16 hours into the past. I made very precise calculations for my little time bubble, making them just right so that when you entered the bubble, the Dyson Ring would be in a slightly different location. In other words... as opposed to outside of it, you're now INSIDE of it. But not to worry, after all, to compensate, you only need to wait." Blast Off doesn't like this one bit... not the strange Quintesson (did anyone mention he had animal heads?? No, no they did not.... and let's not even go into the spider legs....), nor the Sharkticons, nor being displaced in time itself. he'd expected a little more... warning, somehow. Time to prepare and plan. But that's gone now... and now he's one lone (...always alone...) Combaticon surrounded by a freak show. Time to make the best out of this that he can. He's already come this far, after all. And learning the secret of life and death would be worth a little ...unease. He tries to choose his words carefully as he looks around again. "I see. Very clever... the things I've heard said about you appear to be true, then. Many I know have spoken highly of your discoveries... but real information concerning them has been hard to find." there's a pause, "However, I would prefer some sort of gaurantee of... a fair price, up to and including /survival/, before I ask any questions..." Archaeonix's one normal face quirks a brow at Blast Off. "A fair price? I believe my terms would be quite amenable. You may not feel the same, but... that is all a matter of perspective. Regardless, I cannot promise you that. Especially not until I know what you want. Even so..." He smiles. "...I will let you leave here alive. I promise I will do that much for you. In fact, to show what a gracious host I am..." He gestures with a tentacle at Blast Off. "Release him, he's no threat to me." The Sharkticons grunt, transforming into shark mode to chew at the net holding Blast Off, and in moments he is freed... albeit trapped underground in an enormous Dyson Ring. Blast Off flinches back as Sharkticon teeth flash and chomp near him, brushing up against an arm at one point. Yes... this was definitely one of his less-brilliant ideas. His trigger finger twitches, but he works on maintaining a controlled and calm demeanor. He can't afford to panic right now. But the net drops away and he is finally able to stand free, rubbing his arms and rolling his shoulders and regarding the Quintesson warily. "How... kind of you." Blast Off keeps his voice flat. He gazes over at the nearest Sharkticon. He's never actually *seen* one this close, and he can say he really doesn't care to have done so either. Then back to Archeonix. There isn't a lot of choice here... though the Combaticon doesn't let himself think of it that way. He... can't. Choice is too important to him. But... he CHOSE to start this journey, after all.... time to perhaps finish it. "I..." He blinks, still trying to choose his words carefully. "I have heard you hold the power of life and death- that you can return the dead to the living." He looks around again, but there's no easy or non-meaningful way to ask this. So his gaze returns to Archeonix. "....I want to know how." Archaeonix actually seems surprised by that question. "Return the dead to life? Ah... I see... You mean Prowl and the Insecticons? To be honest, the original Kickback, Bombshell, and Shrapnel are still very much dead. However... something of them endured in the *Insecticon Hive Mind*. I tapped into when I accessed the mind of Scorn and some of the other surviving *intelligent* Insecticons. This... proved useful for creating my own horde of Insecticons. Hm. I do not care that they are no longer under my control. They've long since served their purpose. But the point is, I was able to use these remnants to recreate them. Not a feat I could perform for most Cybertronians." He grins. "Ah, but now you wonder, 'How did he do this for Prowl, who is not an Insecticon?' Well. First I want to know... why precisely should I entrust such a valuable secret to *you*, someone who, in all likelihood, intends to hand it over to Galvatron the moment he learns of it?" He chuckles. "Silly machines. You think you freed yourselves from slavery, then you bow and scrape at the feet of tyrants." Blast Off listens to the information about the Insecticons with a frown under his faceplate. So it's merely what remained of them from the Hive Mind? The Combaticon doesn't really understand that collective intelligence, though as a combiner he at least has some clue. Then the rest of Archeonix's comments get an indignant huff. He glares at the Quintesson despite the uncertain situation he finds himself in. "I bow and scrape before NO ONE. You obviously do not know Combaticons very well. We CHOOSE our paths. And we do not grovel before anyone, Galvatron included." The Renegade Decepticon side of him glares just a moment longer, then he adds, relaxing ever-so-slightly (still ready to fight if need be, though), "You are a scientist, correct? You surely want your work appreciated- and entrusted to one capable of reasoned thought and action. Yet- who is also quite capable of applying force when it is needed. I am such an individual. I am highly skilled, after all. And I am far more sophisticated than your average Decepticon... but you surely must know there are others who seek you as I do? Why not work with someone like me and perhaps we can... both benefit." Archaeonix chuckles knowingly at Blast Off. "Of course you choose your own paths! That is why you serve Galvatron's every whim. Hm." The Quintesson considers. "It is true, I do wish to be appreciated, but by a very specific group of people. Namely, *my* people. Once they derided me as a fool, a lunatic--I want them to see that I accomplished what they said was impossible! Ah... but how could you help me with that? Hm... yes, actually, you could help me with that..." His grin turns a bit sly. "Let me begin by saying if you believe that, upon learning this secret, you will be able to revive an entire army of dead Decepticon warriors, you will be *deeply* disappointed. Now, while I have little concern of threats to my life, there are certain niggling tasks I need to take care of. If you TRULY wish to learn this secret, then I have two tasks for you. If you fail at either of them, then the deal is off. Betray me, and I will trap you in an infinite time loop where you will repeat a day of agonizing torture *forever.* "First, you will travel to the Babill system. There, a massive fleet under the control of the Lightning Beings is gathering. These Lightning Beings are entities who wrote themselves into the fabric of the universe, having long ago abandoned their bodies, and yet their influence remains in the machines they control. Your task here will be to provide me with images of the fleet, sufficient with a headcount of their vessels. Second, there is a representative of the Assembly of Worlds known as Ganos. You will kill him. Understood?" His animal heads start to mutter to themselves. They seem to think Blast Off should be drawn and quartered! Blast Off glowers at Archeonix's first comment... but can't entirely argue. Well, he /could/ (he's always been good at denial) since he hates having to bow to ANY authority- especially the reformated version of the mech the Combaticons tried to kill- twice. He eventually crosses his arms, tilting his head to the side as he considers the Quintesson's words. "I am not neccessarily seeking an army, no. The Combaticons themselves are all the army we need. No... it is for... other reasons." Wing elevons twitch slightly at the mention of endless torture, but Blast Off isn't really thinking of betrayal... at least not yet. He listens to the rest. Great, more tasks. Every time he seems to get close, he finds another obstacle instead. But this IS at least progress.... "Very well. I am a skilled space shuttle- and a sniper. I have done mercenary and assasination work before. This will not be a problem." He dares take a step forward then... his ego helping him to add, "Just keep in mind that if YOU betray ME or do not fulfill your part of the bargain... you will find you have not only me to deal with, but all of my teammates as well." "You'll find, soon enough, that you will share your reasons with me whether you wish to or not," Archaeonix says, pacing about Blast Off, his talons clacking across the floor. "That is not a threat, simply a fact that you will come to understand. Speaking of threats... you'll also come to understand, in the days, just how badly outclassed you really are. But... that is something we can reveal in the... future. One thing for you to ponder--Prowl had an expiration date on him. Somehow, he was able to exceed that expiration date. Consider also, how he terrified his former employers, Lord Gycony and Kremzeek, during the Olympics, and further consider his ruthless actions towards the Autobots. Does that seem odd to you?..." Another chuckle. "...Be careful, Blast Off. Once you know the truth, you may wish you did not. Now... is there anything else?..." Blast Off watches warily as the Quintesson circles around him.... He never has liked Quintessons, and this only reminds him of that fact. He doesn't like Sharkticons, either... he's surrounded by things he doesn't like. But...oh well, welcome to his world. (At least when he's not surrounded by space itself...) He'd like to makes some retorts, as well.... OUTCLASSED??!! HOW DARE YOU. ....And yet something in even the arrogant Combaticon's mind stops him from doing so. probably the fact that he really IS all alone, surrounded by Sharkticons and a mad scientists while trapped ina time bubble and not entirely sure how to get out. Yeah, that might be it. His chin comes up again, trying to look cool and confident. "What I *wish* for ultimately remains up to me.... But I must gain that knowledge first. All else comes later." Archaeonix chuckles one last time. "We'll see. Now, it's time to send you away, Blast Off. Accomplish my two tasks, and then you will learn the secret." Then, Archaeonix seems to vanish for but a moment, there's a poke at the back of Blast Off's neck, and the next thing he knows, he's awakening in space, hanging over the Dyson Ring! Blast Off startles a bit as he comes to... then he moves to get himself free of the ring and back towards open space again. Optics flicker in a bit of confusion, but he soon realizes where he is and that Archeonix is now long gone. Maybe not even of this time anymore, either. One last look around, and he transforms back into shuttle mode for a long flight home. to rest, recuperate... and prepare for Archeonix's two tasks. At least he's still moving forward on this quest. And surely he will see the end of it- he is BLAST OFF, after all. ...that doesn't prevent him from making a lot of scans as he goes though. Can't be too careful after all, right?